Cross My Heart
by kate657
Summary: Haley and Nathan Scott are now happily married again. Haley is head nurse of the ER and Nathan has been traded to one of the best teams in the city but an unforeseen danger lurks around the corner that could cost one of them their life. SEQUEL!
1. A Stolen Moment

A/N: I love writing sequels and so I read through some of the stories I've finished and I finally decided which one will get a sequel.

A while ago, I wrote a story called "The Past Returns". Some of you might remember it. If you've never read it before, you might want to before reading this. The jist of it was that Nathan and Haley were married but Haley was _not_ a singer and she never knew Chris so she didn't leave Nathan. He left her after their freshman year of college. Then four years later, Nathan lives in California and comes to Raleigh (where Peyton, Lucas, Brooke and Haley are all living) but gets into a car crash. He is rushed to the hospital that Haley works at. She's a nurse. I won't give away the ending in case you want to read it. What you need to know is that they did end up back together (of course!). And now here is the sequel...

**Cross My Heart**

**A Stolen Moment **(Chapter 1)

"Hey," Nathan Scott said when he saw his wife stir. Haley opened her big hazel eyes slowly and when she saw the ocean-blue eyes looking down at her, she smiled softly. She reached out and pulled Nathan down, immediately crushing their lips together in a soaring kiss. When he pulled away, his eyes were brilliant as he looked down at her.

"I missed you. Just thought you'd want to know," she explained. He cracked a smile and pulled her closer. "When did you get here?"

"About three," he replied lazily. It was obvious that he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. It was only seven at night.

"How long are you going to be here?" she asked carefully. Nathan looked down at her regretfully.

"I have a game in Oshawa tomorrow night," he replied. Haley looked away. "Hales, come on. Look at me. I'm sorry." Haley eventually lifted her gaze to meet his.

"I know it's not your fault," she replied and catching the look on his face, she said, "It's not like you make the game schedules." He sighed.

"Believe me, I would not choose to be away from you if I could help it," he said. Haley laughed at the desperation in his voice. She sat up in bed and leaned against the wall.

"I forgot to tell you. The hospital offered me a promotion," she said. His eyebrows jumped in surprise and he smiled.

"Really? What is it?" he asked.

"They want to make me part of the nursing administration. Starting tonight, you're looking at the new head nurse," she replied. His smile widened as he pulled her closer.

"Congratulations, honey. I'm proud of you," he said. Haley studied him for a second. "Don't look so modest. You've been busting your butt at that hospital for almost four years now. Putting up with people like that Steve Crane, you should be named a saint." Haley cracked up.

When she had first worked at the hospital, Dr. Steve Crane, who was actually a second-year resident, and she had gotten off on the wrong foot. He had mishandled a rape victim and Haley chewed him out for it. Their relationship had worsened from there. And Haley could have had him fired if she didn't want to lose his wife, Natalie, also an RN at the hospital, as a friend.

Two months ago, the hospital had thrown a party for the staff after their hospital ER was named the best in today's leading emergency medicine magazine. Haley had brought Nathan with her and he had finally met Steve. They got into an argument about the basketball game that Nathan had just played in and Ethan had mocked Nathan's team's performance. He didn't realize at the time that Nathan was a player on the team and Nathan had let him have it. It got so heated that Natalie had to drag her husband away before Nathan decked him after Steve started ridiculing Haley once he realized that Nathan was her husband.

"Steve isn't that bad," Haley lied. Nathan looked at her incredulously.

"Insulting my team is something I can tolerate because sometimes we don't play as well as we could," he said, and Haley shot him a questioning look, "Or, at least, the other team players don't. Not me. I always give it my best." Haley smirked. She got up and started to get her uniform together. She had to start work at eight. She walked into the bathroom and started the water. She undressed and hopped in. Nathan came in and sat on the edge of the tub.

"That's exactly what I think too," she said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Nathan laughed.

"But insulting my wife? Anyone who is that stupid better take cover because I will make them regret they ever learned to speak," Nathan said. Haley felt her heart jump. She wasn't a fan of violence and she wasn't too fond of the idea that her husband had to defend her honour, but hearing Nathan being so protective of her made her fall more in love with him than ever before.

"I felt like 'accidentally' filling out a chart for him to have to undergo a rectal exam as part of his Monthly Employee Check-up when he started ridiculing your playing," Haley said. Nathan cringed at the idea.

"That definitely would be more effective than me punching him. You do come up with more interesting ways to get revenge than I ever could," Nathan said proudly.

She got out and threw a robe on. "But not half as fun to watch," Haley commented.

"I didn't hit him," Nathan said, walking into the bedroom but leaving the door open.

"Yeah because I pulled you away before your punch landed," she reminded him, laughing. She appeared dressed with a towel around her shoulders as she brushed her dripping hair. He shrugged.

"He had it coming," he replied simply.

"Yes, he did. Too bad Natalie's my friend. Otherwise, I would have let you hit him," Haley said. Nathan smiled. He came over and swung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him.

"That's my girl," he whispered as he began to trail her neck with kisses. Haley smiled at his touch.

"Nathan, I have to get to work," she reminded him.

"You can be a little late, can't you?" he asked against her skin. Haley felt like saying yes but she shook her head.

"Come by on my break," she replied. He looked up at her and widened his eyes.

"What'd you have in mind?" he asked, winking at her in the mirror. Haley laughed and jabbed him in the ribs.

"Breakfast," she replied. His face fell in mock disappointment.

"I'll bring the rice," he whispered. Haley loved eating rice on her break because the hospital cafeteria's food was disgusting.

"Don't forget the Soya sauce," she said and he laughed.

"When should I be there?" he asked.

"Try about a half hour early just in case I can break away sooner," she replied.

"And what am I supposed to do for thirty minutes?" he asked.

She headed for the door but before closing it she looked at him and said, "There's a basketball hoop outside beside the ambulance bay. The doctors and interns play when they have spare time so there's always someone there." She closed the door but didn't notice Nathan's smile widening.

"I love that woman," he said to himself. He turned around and headed for the bedroom to get a few more hours sleep.

"So is Nathan home yet?" Natalie asked as Haley and she walked to the nursing station.

"He came home a few hours ago," she replied. Natalie looked at her.

"Oh, that's great. I know you haven't seen him in a while," Natalie said with a smile.

"Three weeks," Haley replied with a slight frown. "But who's counting?"

"I honestly don't know how you do it. If it were me, I sure wouldn't put up with it," Marie said. Tina Maine nodded in agreement.

"I don't think I could trust that while he's on the road, he's faithful to me," she said. Haley rolled her eyes and they caught the hurt in her eyes. "Oh, Haley, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate that Nathan isn't."

"Because we all know that he is," Gabrielle said, walking up to the station.

"He loves you so much," Natalie said.

"And I love him," Haley said and looked at Marie. "That's how I do it." Marie just smiled. Then Steve Crane came by and kissed Natalie.

"Oh, ladies, don't forget. You all have to have your monthly checkups," he said.

"Already had mine," Marie commented.

"Mine's today," Tina said.

"Same here," Natalie said.

"Tomorrow," Haley replied absentmindedly. She was too busy thinking about Nathan to listen to the rest of the conversation.


	2. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

A/N: Here's an extra long chapter for you. I spent the last hour finishing it up and you'll like it. Lots of Naley interaction for you. Actually, 95 of it is Naley. The first few chapters of this story will be a prelude to the actual storyline that I have in mind for the story. Leave some words. Enjoy )

**Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow **(Chapter 2)

Nathan passed the basketball to Noah Shane and then checked his watch. "Ten more minutes, Scott," Noah said. He and Noah had become fast friends. Nathan appreciated how Noah had looked out for Haley at the hospital and saved her that time she had an embolus. And, of course, he was Nathan's doctor after his car crash.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked.

"Haley doesn't get off until ten minutes from now," Noah replied. Nathan smiled.

"It's that obvious, is it?" he asked, hiding his embarrassment.

"With you two, yeah," Noah replied. He passed Nathan the ball and Nathan ran up to the basket and slam-dunked it. He held on to the rim of the hoop for a second longer than needed and did a summersault on the way down. Noah looked impressed. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"My dad taught me the dunk. I picked up the summersault at High Flyers," Nathan replied.

"Isn't that some prestigious basketball camp?" Noah asked. Nathan nodded.

"Yeah, I went there in the summer when I was seventeen and the next summer," he replied.

"Impressive," Noah commented.

"I guess," Nathan said.

"How's your brother, uh, Lucas doing now?" Noah asked.

"How do you know him?" he asked.

"He used to come and pick Haley up sometimes when she first started working here before you two got back together," Noah explained. Nathan nodded.

"He's doing fine. He actually just got a job at the same magazine his fiancée works at," Nathan replied.

"Peyton, right? She's an artist," Noah replied.

"Yeah. You a fan?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Not really. My girlfriend is though," Noah replied.

"When did you get a girlfriend?" Nathan asked, smiling in amusement. Noah scowled at him.

"I'll have you know I have been dating a woman for almost three weeks now," Noah replied.

"That's not that long, you know," Nathan pointed out. Noah smirked.

"It is for me," he said. Nathan nodded. That much was true. Noah Shane was a player much like Nathan had been before he had met Haley. He was never with a girl longer than two weeks. His longest relationship had lasted thirteen and a half days.

"Look, I need to talk to you for a minute," Nathan said. Noah passed the ball to the other team while he and Nathan walked a few feet away from the game.

"What's up?" Noah asked.

"Well, the thing is that I have a game tomorrow in Oshawa," Nathan said.

"Already?" Noah asked.

"Yeah," Nathan said. Noah eyed him carefully. "Look, I know I just got back after being away for a while, but I don't have a choice in this. It's the final game in the tournament and if we win this one, it'll determine whether or not we get into the playoffs."

"But if you win, doesn't that mean you'll be gone for about a month?" Noah asked. Nathan sighed as he nodded in misery.

"I know it's terrible, but part of me hopes we don't win," he admitted.

"That is terrible. What about your team?" he asked.

"I've devoted most of my time to the team. I am committed to basketball. But at the same time," Nathan said.

"There's Haley," Noah finished. Nathan nodded insistently.

"I'm gone for weeks at a time. Sometimes I only have a few days in between trips. I love the game and the team but… Damn it! I miss my wife," Nathan burst out.

"I get it," Noah said. Nathan looked at him in confusion. Noah smiled. "Well, I can't relate to it, obviously. But I can understand where you're coming from."

"If we win, I'll be able to spend about six days with her before I have to leave. Even if I don't win, we have a lot of lost time to make up for. I was hoping to talk her into taking a week off," Nathan said.

"And you're wondering if I, as an attending and the Chief, can rearrange the schedule to make it possible?" Noah asked.

"I don't want to screw anyone over for their vacation time. If Haley says yes, could you maybe call in a temp?" Nathan asked. Noah cringed at the thought.

"Do you have any idea what a temp nurse is?" Noah asked in frustration.

"No," Nathan replied slowly.

"Usually a floor nurse from somewhere else. They are totally inexperienced for the ER," Noah explained.

"Well, tell Haley to arrange for one. She's usually good at picking appropriate replacements for the doctors," Nathan said.

"I did that to her once," Noah said, remembering the time that he had planned a spur-of-the-moment two week vacation and called Haley the first day when he had already left and told her to find a replacement. That day, there was no attending, three interns and four residents plus two nursing students and a big car pileup on a major highway.

"Yeah and she covered for you," Nathan reminded him. Noah looked at him. "And she was swamped that first week which our wedding anniversary fell into as well. We had to postpone celebrating it." Nathan looked at him. He was shamelessly laying on the guilt and he didn't care. He wanted time alone with Haley and he was willing to do anything for it.

"All right," Noah said eventually. Nathan smiled and they started to walk to the court. "But only because you're my friends and you make Haley happy." Nathan looked at him. "And she makes you happy, of course." Nathan smirked. He checked his watch and smiled. 

"It's that time," he said.

"Tell her I said 'hello'," Noah called after him.

Haley rolled her eyes as Steve began lecturing her. She bit her lip as to stop herself from laughing at him. "I realize that you're a great nurse but don't think that because of that, you can get away with murder," he was saying.

"And what did I do?" she asked, keeping the amusement out of her voice.

"You didn't put the chart back," he scolded.

"That's because you took it out of the room and left it on some random cart," Haley reminded him. He stiffened.

"It's your responsibility to look after the chart," he said.

"I didn't think questioning you in front of the patient was such a good idea," Haley explained.

"And I appreciate your professional courtesy but still…" he started. Haley was about to burst. She was ten seconds away from decking him herself.

"Honey," Natalie said, coming in between the two as if shielding Steve from Haley, "it is actually your job to put the chart back. We have far too many patients to remember where each individual chart is. You have fewer patients than we do."

"I'm a doctor, Natalie," he said as if that were all the explanation needed. Natalie backed down but Haley had heard that excuse for the last time. She came closer and smiled at him.

"You're a resident," Haley reminded him.

"I'm still a doctor," he said.

"But you're not an attending," Haley pointed out. Only attendings could really use the 'I'm a doctor' excuse and they were smart enough not to use that with a nurse. He turned to face her.

"Is there something you'd like to say to me, Haley?" he asked.

Haley looked at Natalie apologetically. "He opened this door," she told her. Then she turned to him and said, "Yeah. Grow up."

"What?" he asked.

"Stop acting as if you're some big hero because you have a degree. Newsflash: we all do. We might not be doctors but we are nurses and I have had it up to here with you," Haley said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean that we work harder than you. We work longer hours than you. We have more patients. Without us, you wouldn't be able to do anything. So remember your place or we'll make your job _very_ difficult," Haley warned. Steve looked at all the other nurses who were nodding at what she was saying. Then he looked at Natalie.

"Do you feel that way too?" he asked.

"I don't think that you give nurses enough credit sometimes," Natalie replied carefully. She wasn't exactly agreeing but she wasn't really disagreeing either. He stalked off. Natalie turned to Haley and shook her head in disappointment. "You couldn't just let it go this time, could you?" Haley scoffed.

"I've been letting it go ever since I met him three _years_ ago," she replied.

"Well, you finally said your piece, Haley. You stuck it to him and dragged me into it. He may not be the nicest doctor but he's still my husband and I love him," Natalie said.

"And I'm sorry that you got dragged into it but I've kept my mouth shut out of respect for you. I won't do it anymore," Haley said. Natalie sighed and went after Steve. Just then, arms encircled Haley's waist. She smiled and looked up to see Nathan.

"Is she ok?" he asked.

"No, but she will be," Haley replied, turning around. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Hi." Nathan laughed.

"Hey," he said.

"How was the game?" she asked. He looked at her curiously. "I watched for a few seconds."

"You did?" he asked, cursing himself for not noticing.

"Just as a trauma was coming in. I went out and met the ambulance," she explained.

"The patient survive?" he asked.

"Up in surgery," Haley replied.

"Come on," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her into the cafeteria. He pulled out the rice he'd brought with him. Haley grabbed forks and plates. She poured the rice onto their plates and they began eating.

"So, when is your flight?" she asked. Nathan looked at his watch.

"In a few hours," he replied. Haley looked down. He reached a hand across the table, held her chin and moved her head up. He smiled. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you. I hate being apart from you," she said.

"So do I," he said in agreement. He glanced away and Haley could read the regret on his face.

"But I understand how important basketball is to you. And I love that you're so dedicated to your team mates," she said.

"Not as dedicated as I am to you," he reminded her.

"I know that too," she said with a smile. His face grew serious. "You have something to tell me." It was a statement not a question. She knew him so well she could read him like a book. He was hard to read to other people but he had let his walls down with her from the beginning and she had learned a lot about him ever since. And he knew her as well as she knew him.

He hesitated for a second. "This game is the last game of the tournament. You know what that means, right?" he asked. Haley nodded.

"How long?" she asked.

"Four weeks. Maybe five," he replied.

"A month?" she asked. He could hear the pain in her voice. He nodded.

"If we win," he replied.

"If you win? Nathan, you're the best player out there. You know you're going to win," she said.

"The Celtics are undefeated this season, Hales," he said.

"So are you," she reminded him.

"I know it's a long time," he replied.

"It's an eternity, Nathan," she corrected. He sat back in his chair. Frustration was curling off him like smoke.

"I hate this!" he exclaimed loudly. A few heads turned. He looked at her longingly. "I don't want to leave you. You do know that, right?" Haley looked at him and held his gaze for a few seconds. She tightened her hand against his and brought his up and kissed his fingers and squeezed his hand with both of hers.

"I know," she assured him.

Haley glanced at the clock on the wall. "I've got to head back," she said. Nathan looked at the clock too and nodded.

"I've got to get home and pack for my flight," he replied.

"I'll talk to Noah about taking that week off," she said. He smiled happily. They stood up and he walked her back to the ER. He pulled her close and hugged her tightly. "I will be counting down the hours."

"That's good, but don't forget to save a few people while you're doing that," he said and chuckled when she lifted her head off his chest and fixed him with an annoyed glare.

"Play well and I hope you win," she said. He nodded. He knew that she meant it. She really did want him to play his best despite the fact that if the team won, he would be away for a month. That's how supportive of him she was. And that just made him love her more. He leaned down and kissed her softly but it was one of the tenderest kisses they'd shared in weeks.

"I'll see you soon. I love you," he said. He ran his hand through her hair and smiled down at her.

"I love you too," she said and watched him leave.


	3. Calling You Home

A/N: So this chapter is going to jump around quite a bit. The beginning is going to be the very end of the prologue and then the real storyline will take place. Leave some words. Enjoy )

**Calling You Home** (Chapter 3)

_7 days later… (from where chapter 2 left off)_

"_This is our last night together," Nathan murmured as he held his wife close to his body. He felt her move her head and then rest her chin on his bare chest. _

"_I know," she said. She tried to sound cheerful but Nathan could hear the sadness in her voice. _

"_It's really not as long as we think," he told her. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows in an are-you-actually-serious kind of way. "I'm serious. People say a month is six weeks. But when you look on a calendar, it's really only about four and a half." _

_Haley lifted one of her arms and brought her hand to his cheek. "It's still the longest we've ever been apart since you got traded, Nathan. Talking about weeks isn't going to change anything. It's still going to be really hard," she said. _

_His arms tightened around her in response. "I thought having this time together was supposed to make it easier," he confessed. Haley made a sound that suggested she agreed with him. _

"_It was and it has. But in a way, it's made it harder," she said. _

◊

Four weeks later…

"Haley, how are you feeling?" Peyton asked as she, Lucas, Brooke and Sam all came into her hospital room. Ever since she had a fainting spell during work three weeks ago, she had been in the hospital more than she liked. She loved working there but she hated being a patient.

"How does it look like I'm feeling?" Haley asked, gesturing to her face. There was sunburn on her face.

"It kind of looks like a butterfly," Peyton remarked.

"Well, it hurts like hell," Haley complained. Brooke smirked.

"At least it doesn't look like a spider. Butterflies are nice," she said.

Haley scowled. "Yeah, embroidered onto a pair of jeans or a t-shirt, on a watch or bracelet, not burned onto my face," she snapped. They all looked down. "Sorry."

"New meds?" Lucas inquired. Haley reluctantly nodded.

"When are you getting out of here?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," she replied. Lucas looked around the room. Haley grimaced.

"He's at an away game," she replied.

"Hales, you're really sick. Why is his butt not in that chair by your bedside with worry lines on his forehead?" Brooke demanded. Haley hesitated.

"Don't even tell me," Lucas said, glaring down at her.

"He doesn't know," she admitted.

"You still haven't told him?" Peyton exclaimed in disbelief. Haley shook her head.

"Why not?" Lucas asked.

"He's very busy right now, Luke. I don't want to him to worry about me," she replied meekly. They all looked at her in disbelief.

"Haley, he's your husband. He'd want to be here for you. He deserves to know. Having him here might…" Brooke trailed off, but Haley latched onto her sentence.

"Might what, make this all disappear?" she asked. She could tell by the look that flashed through their eyes that it was what they thought. She snickered. "Get real. Nathan may do a lot of things but he can't cure me. If I have it, this illness is incurable and it's here to stay. You need to accept it."

"And you need to tell Nathan," Peyton said with narrowed eyes. Haley knew Peyton didn't like to be lectured but it was a long time coming.

"That is between me and Nathan. And I will tell him when I'm good and ready," Haley said.

"I think you should pick up the phone and tell him right now," Lucas said. Now Haley narrowed her eyes.

"Well, I don't. And my opinion is all that matters. It is, after all, my life and my decision," Haley said.

"You're Nathan's wife. Your life affects his and he's my brother so that's how it affects me. So I repeat that you need to tell Nathan," Lucas said.

"I will when I'm ready and not a moment sooner. This is hard enough without all of you badgering me," Haley said. Then Noah Shane walked in.

"I think you need to tell him now," he said as he came closer to her bed. Haley looked at him in annoyance.

"You know, when you made me tell Nathan about his liver transplant alone that time, I let it slide because it was the right thing," Haley said. Noah looked at her. "This time, you're just interfering and I don't appreciate it, Noah. Especially from you."

"I'm not trying to interfere. Your results came back. Here," he said, handing her the clipboard. Haley's eyes scanned it and they widened slightly. She looked up at him for confirmation. The sympathy in his eyes was all the answer she needed. The test had been positive. Her lip quivered as she grabbed the phone and dialled Nathan's cell phone number which she knew off by heart. It picked up on the fifth ring and her heart jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Hello?" Nathan asked uncertainly.

"Nathan," Haley started. She could practically hear his lips curve into a smile and heard the change in his voice.

"Hey, Hales. This is a nice surprise," he said excitedly.

"Nathan, you need to come home. Something very bad has happened," she said and told him to come to the hospital right away. Then she hung up.


	4. Hope Not to Die

…**Hope Not to Die** (Chapter 4)

Nathan walked into the hospital the day after he received Haley's phone call. She had said something bad had happened so he figured something had happened to Lucas. He wondered if his brother's HCM had finally taken its toll on him. But then Lucas had stopped playing basketball a long time ago, so why would it affect him now?

Or maybe something had happened to Peyton. Did she do that thing where she ran red lights still? He didn't know and not knowing was driving him crazy. All he knew was that something bad had happened to one of his friends. The least Haley could have done was tell him who was hurt. He headed to the ER and smiled at the admitting clerk.

"Hey, Nathan, what can I do for you?" the clerk asked.

"Point me in the direction of my lovely wife, please," Nathan said, smiling.

"In Curtain Area 2 at the fourth bed," the clerk said and pointed him down the right hall. Nathan walked down there. As if he needed to be told where curtain two was! That was where he had stayed after his accident where he had run into Haley again.

He walked into the area and headed to the fourth room. He saw familiar curly blond hair peeking through the door. "Peyton?" he asked. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Nathan, you're finally here!" she said and walked over to him. She hugged him.

"Is Luke ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Lucas replied from inside the room. Nathan poked his head in and saw that Sam, Lucas and Brooke were all sitting around the bed. A wave of terror overcame him as the scent of a horrifying truth that he was about to realize as he pushed past them.

In the bed laid his wife. Haley was turned on her side, sleeping. He looked to Lucas, a question in his eyes. A question he didn't want to ask and he was almost positive that he didn't want to know the answer. Lucas just sighed. "She's sick," Lucas confirmed.

"With what?" he asked.

"Not my place to tell you, Nate. I wish I could but she insisted on telling you herself and on her own time. She's on a sedative because she's in a lot of pain right now," Lucas replied.

"What are you all doing here if she's asleep?" he asked.

"She asked us to stay until you got here," Brooke said. Nathan nodded.

As he looked at her, he said, "She doesn't like to be all alone."

"Who does?" Peyton quipped. Nathan nodded at the truth in her statement. Peyton looked at everyone else and attempted a half smile at him. "I think it's about time we got out your hair. Tell her I'll be by on my brake tomorrow."

"All right," he said. Sam and Lucas brushed passed him, patting his shoulder with their hand. Brooke hugged him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Peyton hugged him tightly and smiled at him as she pulled him away.

"Take it easy on her, ok?" she asked. There were tears welling in her eyes.

"Yeah," he said. Her smile widened and then they were all gone. He took his jacket off and put his duffel bag on one of the chairs the others had left. He moved most of them out of the way, leaving only one beside her bed and sat in it.

He took a deep breath, reached out a hand and gently shook her. Her eyes fluttered open almost instantly. She looked around and when her gaze fell upon him, her face brightened. She reached out one of her hands; he grabbed hold of it and entwined their fingers. She gave his hand a weak squeeze. "Hi," she managed.

Nathan choked back a sob. He had only ever cried in front of her but it didn't mean that he wanted to do it again. Plus, the last thing she probably needed was her husband crying is eyes out in front of her even before she told him what was wrong with her. "Hey," he said. He looked at her carefully. "Why didn't you tell me that something was wrong with you?" Haley looked away for a second. He knew what that meant. She was gathering her thoughts, figuring out how she would answer the question. Her gaze returned.

"I didn't want you to get hurt," she said finally.

"What?" he asked.

"Nathan, if you knew something was wrong with me, you would've gotten here as fast as you could," she said.

"That's a bad thing?" he asked in disbelief.

"No, of course not. It's just that I know you. You would break every speed limit. I didn't want you to get into some sort of accident before I got a chance to see you," she replied.

"So instead you made me panic, dreaming up all sorts of scenarios about what might have happened to one of our friends?" he asked.

Her eyes watered at the admission. "I'm sorry," she said. Nathan instantly softened and tightened his grasp on her hand.

"It's ok, Hales. I understand. So what happened?" he asked. She began to tell him about her fainting spell, but he interjected, "Wait a minute. This happened three weeks ago?" She nodded.

"And you only called me yesterday?" he asked. He looked so wounded; Haley hoisted herself up, ignoring the shooting pain. She grabbed his arms and pulled him onto the bed with her. He wouldn't meet her gaze so she lifted his head up with her hands.

"I did not keep you in the dark because I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to worry about me. You were gone for the finals, Nathan and I wanted you to play in them. I didn't keep you away because I didn't want you here. Believe me. When I woke up, my first thought was to call you but then I realized how selfish that would've been especially if it turned out to be nothing," she said.

"I wouldn't have cared. I want to be with you, especially when you're in the hospital, Hales," he said.

"I wasn't in the hospital that long that time. Just for two days," she replied. Nathan raised his eyebrows and stared at her.

"Haley," he started, "that's not the point. That was two days that you spent alone in a hospital without me. And many days after that."

"And I hated it," she said. Nathan smiled and leaned in for a kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds.

"So what is wrong?" he asked. Haley sighed.

"I have an autoimmune disease," she replied.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's an irregular condition that arises when your immune system attacks your own tissue like it's a foreign invader," she replied.

"And which one do you have?" he asked.

"One of the worst kinds," she replied. He swallowed his frustration.

"Which one, Hales?" he asked again.

"Lupus," she replied.


	5. The Big Bad Wolf

_A/N: New chapter provides more info on Haley's condition as well as how Nathan deals with the information. Lots of Naley moments. Leave some words. Enjoy _: )

**The Big Bad Wolf** (Chapter 5)

"Lupus," he repeated. He pulled away from her for a minute and turned his head. He didn't want her to see the expressions on his face as he digested the word. When he turned back to her, she looked at him in a way that told him she knew exactly what he had just been doing. "It sounds so malicious like it's some sort of trained killer."

Haley shrugged. "Well, 'lupus' actually means wolf in Latin," she said with a half smile.

"That's not funny," he said immediately.

"Sorry. Too soon for joking," Haley said. Nathan nodded in agreement.

"So what is lupus?" he asked.

"Are you sure you want to know all this?" Haley asked. He nodded. "There are five different types. I have SLE which is systemic lupus erythematosus."

"What does systemic mean?" he asked.

"We say 'systemic' because it can infect any organ or any system of the body," she explained.

"And how serious is SLE?" Nathan asked. Haley hesitated. "Hales." He looked at her, urging her not to sugar coat anything. Haley nodded.

"Very serious. It's the most common type and the most severe," she replied. Nathan felt tears burn his eyes and he didn't even bother to wipe them away. That was how secure he was with Haley. He could show his emotions openly with her.

"Can it kill you?" he asked.

"Thirty years ago, yes. But now there are better treatments, more effective drugs. Eighty percent of patients can live up to ten or more years," Haley said.

"That's not an answer," Nathan said.

"That's because it's hard to explain. It usually doesn't kill you directly," Haley said.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

Haley went on as if she hadn't heard him. "But indirectly. Most people with lupus have problems with kidneys, their heart, lungs and even blood cells. If that happens I could go into heart failure or kidney failure or respiratory failure. The most likely outcome is death," she replied.

"This can't be happening," he said. He pulled her close and buried his head in her hair. He held her so tight it was almost as if he was telling God that he wasn't going to let her go. Haley pulled away and wiped some of his tears away.

"You've got to be optimistic here, Nathan. It is more than likely that I will not die from this. I could live a long time and endure the occasional flare-up. I could even outlive you," she said. Nathan laughed but then popped his head up.

"Flare-up?" he repeated.

"Reflex, sorry. It's another medical term," she said.

"And it means?" he asked.

"A flare-up is the term used for when lupus symptoms occur or are active," Haley said brokenly. She was trying to explain it and was having trouble.

"I get it," he said. He looked at her and his expression grew serious. "I'll try to be optimistic, Hales, but it's not easy given…"

"The situation," she finished. He nodded.

"Losing you is the scariest thing in the world to me," he said.

"Same here," she said.

"You're scared of losing yourself?" he asked.

"Shut up. You know I meant you," she said. Nathan chuckled.

"I couldn't help it," he said. Haley smiled.

"I guess I did walk right into that one," she said and Nathan nodded insistently.

"So when are you getting out of here?" he asked.

"Tomorrow, I hope. I just have to be monitored with my medications and then I should be able to go home and get back to living my life," she said.

"And I'm staying with you," he said.

"Nathan, the team still has one more game," she said. Nathan was impressed that she followed the finals.

"Which they'll play without me," Nathan said.

"But," she started.

"No buts. I'm staying home with you to make sure you're ok. You're way more important than one lousy game of basketball," he said. Haley gasped. He looked at her. "What?"

"I wish I had a tape recorder," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"So I could have proof that legendary basketball player Nathan Scott actually called a game lousy," she said and started to laugh hysterically at the look on his face. He nodded.

"Funny," he said.

"You think?" she asked. Nathan laughed as he leaned in to kiss her. Haley still giggled against his lips.

◊◊◊

"Come on, Noah. Give me my meds so I can bust out of here," Haley said as she saw her old friend walk into her room. Nathan stirred beside her. She'd been awake for almost two hours and she was the one who had been sedated.

"Nice to see you too," Noah said. Haley chuckled.

"Sorry," she said.

"I take it you're not fond of it. All the blood tests," Noah said. Haley narrowed her eyes. "Medication changes." She groaned. "Bone marrow tests."

"Ouch!" Haley exclaimed, holding her leg that they had drilled into to get some of her marrow. "I really understand why people hate those things so much now."

"They can't be that bad," Noah said, chuckling at her melodrama.

"You laugh now. Just hope that you'll never have one. Or that I won't inject you with chloroform and give you one while you're asleep in the on-call room," she said.

"You wouldn't dare," Noah said warningly.

"Want a bet?" Haley asked challengingly.

"All right," he said.

"Interesting. You say they can't be that bad but when I threaten to give you one, you surrender," Haley said.

"I'm a doctor, Haley. I hear patients' complaints about the pain and asking for more morphine," Noah said.

"Yeah, about that. You might want to reconsider upping the morphine doses a little," she said.

"You're the head nurse. Nurses give medications. Put it in the regulations," he suggested.

"I will. Thanks for the suggestion," Haley said.

"Now onto your medications," Noah said. He glanced over at Nathan who had drifted back to sleep.

"One sec," Haley said. She turned around, looked at him and thought for a minute. Noah left the room for a few seconds. Nathan was asleep in the bed with her. His arms rested in her lap now that she was sitting. She leaned down and kissed him. He woke up immediately. A smile was plastered to his face as she pulled away.

"Good morning to you too," he said. Haley laughed.

"Noah's outside. It's time to talk about my meds. You said you wanted me to wake you up," Haley said.

"Oh," he said somewhat disappointed. Haley rolled her eyes. Then Noah came back in.

"Hello, sleeping beauty," Noah remarked as he took Haley's chart and handed it to her. She looked it over and then gave it back to him.

"Very amusing, Noah. How's your girlfriend?" Nathan asked. Noah frowned.

"We're on a break," he replied.

"I figured as much," Nathan said.

"That's nice, Nate," Noah said.

"As productive as slinging meaningless insults at each other are, some of us are actually sick here and want to go home. So could we maybe get to my meds?" Haley asked.

"Ooh. That's the nurse in her talking," Noah said. Haley glared at him.

"Moving on," Haley said.

"Right. Well, we're going to start you on hydroxychloroquine. It's an analgesic," Noah said.

"Could you translate that for those of us who don't speak 'doctor'?" Nathan asked.

"It's a pain reliever," Haley replied.

"Sorry, Nate. I'm just use to her as a nurse, not a patient. It feels normal to talk to her in 'doctor'," Noah replied.

"Side effects?" Haley asked.

"Well, fever, blurred vision, you might experience changes in eye colour and ringing in your ears," he replied.

"Fine," Haley said knowing that the chances of her experience the side effects were small.

"And ibuprofen," Noah said. Haley nodded.

"Ahem," Nathan cleared his throat.

"I'll let you field this one since you work with it on a daily basis," Noah said.

"It's a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug or NSAID. It reduces hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body. Inflammation of the joints is a common symptom of lupus so it will help with that. It also reduces pain, fever, etc.," Haley explained. Nathan nodded.

"And in lupus you also experience nausea, tiredness and headaches most of which are possible side effects of ibuprofen," Noah added.

"All right," Nathan said.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"A few warnings for you," Noah said. Haley rolled her eyes. "Lupus makes you extremely sensitive to sunlight, Haley. You need to avoid direct contact or you could end up with another burn on your face."

"Noted," Haley said with a nod, cringing at the memory of the butterfly sunburn that had spanned over her entire face. Apparently the butterfly pattern was common with lupus. It was actually a tell tale sign. Noah had actually sounded excited while explaining that to her. For some reason, Haley had been less enthused about the news. It could have had something to do with the excruciating pain associated with the burn.

"Burn?" Nathan asked. Haley explained it to him. "Ouch."

"Yeah," Haley said as she signed the release forms.

"Well, I guess you can go home now. Enjoy your time off," Noah said. Haley smiled. She had been given three days off work to recuperate. He left the room. Haley turned to Nathan.

"Let's go home," she whispered to him. Nathan scooped her up in his arms, ignoring the wheelchair that the nurse had rolled into the room and brought her to the car. He kissed her as he set her in the passenger seat of his car.

"I'm glad you called me," he said after he pulled away.

"I'm sorry I didn't call sooner," she said.

"Next time call me right away," he said.

"I will," she said as he got into the car.

"Promise?" he asked as he started the engine.

"Cross my heart," Haley said and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Take Care

_A/N: Pure Naley. Leave some words. Enjoy _:D

**Take Care **(Chapter 6)

"Haley, get back to bed. You need your rest," Nathan said walking into the kitchen of their apartment and observed Haley at the stove. She turned around and laughed.

"You're taking this recovering a little too seriously. I'm not an invalid and I refuse to act like one," she said. He came over and tried to pull her out of the room and Haley stayed rooted to her spot in front of the oven.

"Noah said that you need to take it easy," Nathan said.

"And I am. It's not like I'm making goodies for a bake sale. I'm warming up some pizza for us," she said.

"This disease is very serious, Haley," Nathan reminded her. Haley leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips and cupped his cheek.

"Hello, you're talking to a nurse. I know how serious lupus is," Haley said.

"Well, your cavalier attitude about recovering makes me beg to differ," Nathan said.

"I am not being cavalier, Nathan. I'm the one with the disease remember? The only thing is that I'm determined not to let it run my life," Haley said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I will not be cut down because I have a disease. I am better than that and if you have a problem with it, well, that's tough," she said, shrugging almost carelessly.

"Haley," Nathan started.

"Nathan," Haley said mockingly. He went rigid at her tone. He clenched his jaw and stared down at her. Haley winced as she realized how upset he was.

"I'm only trying to take care of my wife. I didn't realize caring was forbidden in this apartment," he said sarcastically. He started to leave but Haley grabbed his arm and pulled him back around to face her.

"On the contrary, caring is necessary," she said. He still had the same hard expression but as she linked her arms around his neck, she could see his resolve cracking. "But you didn't marry the damsel in distress type, Nathan. I just need your love."

"You have that," he said.

"I know and I don't need anything else," she said. He leaned down to kiss her but stopped and Haley groaned in protest.

"You don't need anything else?" he asked, looking at her thoughtfully. His face was inches from hers and her gaze remained fixed on his mouth. "Not even this?" He closed the distance and kissed her, pulling her up against him.

"Well, _that_ is another necessity when it comes to my good health. It's right below oxygen," she replied after the kiss ended. Nathan chuckled and kissed her again.

All of a sudden an alarm went off and Haley glared at her watch from which the sound was coming from. "Time for my meds," she announced and walked to the fridge and grabbed a few bottles of pills off the top of it and then a bottle of water and swallowed the pills in one mouthful. She made a disgusted face afterwards.

"Which one tastes bad?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know if any of them taste bad. Ibuprofen has a bad aftertaste," she replied. Nathan came over and kissed her on the cheek.

"I promised I'd meet Luke at his and Peyton's. We're going to shoot some hoops at the park," he said.

"Well, take me with you. I'd like to see Peyton," Haley said. Nathan hesitated.

"Haley," he started.

"Yes, Sergeant?" she teased. It was her way of telling him that he was being a little controlling again.

He cleared his throat. "Don't you think you should eat first?" he asked, gesturing to the pizza in the oven. Haley walked over to the oven and turned it off.

"Save it for later on," she said with a slight shrug and a suggestive wink.

"Later then," he agreed.


	7. The Trip

_**This story is almost over. There will be one or two more chapters. Most likely only one though. As I mentioned before, I came up with an idea for the story and it was a way to end it. Leave some words. Enjoy** :D Katy _

**The Trip **(Chapter 7)

_7 months later…_

"Haley, are you almost ready yet?" Nathan called from their bedroom.

"Almost," came the muffled reply from their adjoining bathroom. The door was closed and Haley was having a shower before they left.

The team had some sort of appearance to make in Los Angeles. Nathan had tried to get out of it but his coach warned him that there was skipping this one. He had said that Nathan had missed too many practices the last few months as it is. Appearances were for fans and there was no way the coach was going to let him disappoint them.

When he had explained it to her, Haley had taken it pretty well, considering he'd be away for over a week. At the time, Nathan hadn't realized that she would insist on coming with him. He was ecstatic that she was willing to miss so much work to be with him and he was looking forward to spending at least four days, minus the hours he'd be away each day, alone with her in a hotel but he had still tried to talk her out of it. He didn't want to put her through too many changes so soon after adjustments in her medications had been made.

"_So you don't want me there, is that it?" Haley asked with her arms folded across her chest when she turned around from the stove. Nathan shook his head insistently._

"_Of course I want you there," he said, getting up and putting his hands on her shoulders, "I would love to spend some time alone together but honey, you're sick." Haley laughed. _

"_Gee, thanks," Haley said referring to the way it sounded. Nathan rolled his eyes. _

"_You know what I mean. I'm not going to be there the whole time. What if something happens and no one's there?" Nathan asked.  
_

"_I hate to break it to you, Nathan, but I am capable of taking care of myself," she said with a look of amusement in her eyes. _

"_I'm not saying you aren't," Nathan argued.  
_

"_So then, if something happens, I will manage on my own. Besides, it's not like you're going to be away for hours at a time," Haley said. Nathan looked away from her. _

"_Actually, I'll be gone for about five hours each day and that's not counting the practice on Friday," Nathan said. Haley groaned._

"_Five hours each day?" she exclaimed. _

"_I'm afraid so," Nathan said. _

"_What the heck am I going to do in a hotel room for five hours?" she asked. _

"_You could get some…" Nathan started but Haley fixed him with a glare._

_  
"If you say 'get some rest', I'm going to explode," she burst out. He grimaced._

"_Sorry," he said, "but it wouldn't hurt." _

"_All I ever do is hang out with friends, work, rest, spend time with you here and then rest some more. I want to go out while we're in L.A. because it is, you know, L.A.," she said defiantly. _

"_Noah said that you can't overwork yourself. You do need to sleep every now and then," Nathan said. _

"_What does Noah know?" Haley asked. Nathan laughed._

"_He is a doctor. You doctor to be specific," he replied. _

"_Details," Haley muttered. Then she turned to him. "Let's compromise. I will spend the whole day on Friday resting if you promise to take me out to dinner on Tuesday and then shopping on Thursday." _

_He looked at her for a few minutes. He hesitated and she glared at him. "All right," he said. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then turned back to the oven._

Haley came out of the bathroom fully dressed wearing blue flared jeans, a plain white t-shirt and absolutely no make-up. "I'm ready," she said. He nodded but didn't move to get the suitcases. Haley faltered and shot him a questioning look.

"Nathan, the cab is outside waiting to take us to the airport," Haley said, grabbing her purse and one of the suitcases, but Nathan pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her back. He leaned down and kissed her. Haley was so surprised that she dropped the suitcase.

"He can wait another two minutes," Nathan said huskily and Haley's smile widened against his lips.

_Tuesday night_

"Haley?" Nathan asked his wife as they were done eating.

"Yeah," she said, looking up at him.

"Are you all right?" he asked. She smiled.

"Of course I am. Why?" she replied.

"No reason. You just seem a little out of it," he said.

"I'm fine," she replied. He looked at her doubtfully but then shrugged it off.

_Wednesday afternoon…_

Haley came out of the store with an armful of bags and Nathan couldn't help but laugh at her. "Brooke has been rubbed off on you," he commented.

"Ha ha," she said and handed him a bag. "Not really because Brooke makes three trips back to the car and each time she has about seven bags in her arms."

"I take that back. Please, don't be like Brooke," Nathan said. Haley laughed and nodded.

"You have nothing to worry about. I just bought three hats and the hat boxes were too big to fit in a bag together. The other bag is full of clothes," she said.

"Are you ready to head back to the hotel?" Nathan asked.

"Why, are you bored or something?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. Haley's mouth dropped open. "I mean, I like spending time with you but shopping here isn't exactly my idea of time well spent." Her mouth curved into a confident smile.

"Well, maybe not here. But what if I said I have to go a lingerie boutique next?" she said. Nathan's eyebrows shot up. "You could go to the hotel if you want but I was hoping to get your opinion." His smile widened and he put his arm around her shoulders, taking a few of her bags out of her hands.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" he asked.

_Friday night_…

Haley got out of the tub and got dressed. She was wearing a white cotton nightgown. She walked out of the bathroom and started to take her pills. She frowned at the last one she had to take.

It was a new NSAID that she had been prescribed 7 months before called Celecoxib that relieved fever by blocking COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes which are apart of the inflammation process.

Haley hated taking the drug because it made her feel woozy but then again, she could never really be positive that it was what was making her feel that way. She threw all the pills in her mouth, took a huge gulp of water and swallowed.

She picked up her cell phone and dialled Nathan's number. He picked up on the second ring. "Hi, Hales," he said. She smiled.

"Hi. I just wanted to know when you were going to be done," she said.

"Uh, I'm just heading into practice now but it won't be that long. I'll be home in about two hours," Nathan said.

Haley wanted to say that she would see him then but the wooziness she had been feeling before escalated at that moment and everything went black.

"Haley?" he said through the phone when she didn't answer after a few seconds. A silent alarm went off in his head. "Are you there, Hales?" Some of his team mates turned their heads and shot him a few questioning glance. Nathan shrugged.

He could only hear muffled breathing and then a small crash followed by a much larger one. "Haley!" he exclaimed through the phone and then the line went dead. Nathan didn't waste any time, dialled 911, and told them the address of the hotel. They told him that if they weren't at the hotel when he got there, the paramedics would take Haley to the nearest hospital and then the dispatcher told him that address.

Nathan hung up and started throwing his stuff into his duffel bag. He was in his basketball team as he walked out of the change room and across the gymnasium floor but he didn't care. "Scott, where do you think you're going?" his coach screamed after him. Nathan turned around and looked at his coach.

"To my wife," Nathan replied. His coach scoffed.

"Look, I know that you care about her, son, I do but you're not the only one who sacrifices time with their family to be on this team or to coach it. Now you have a contract and it demands that you attend every practice," his coach said.

"Not this one," Nathan called back as the gym doors swung closed. He was dead and he knew it but the only thing on his mind was his wife as he drove to the hospital.


	8. The Obvious Choice

**_Another story is over and I hope you guys have enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thanks for all the support. Leave me some words. Enjoy_ **_:D Katy_

**The Obvious Choice **(Chapter 8)

Nathan was in his car and he was breaking just about every speed limit he saw posted as he raced through the streets on his way to the hospital. He was panicking and wondering if Haley was all right. He knew one thing for sure and that was the fact that she was still alive.

He was certain that if she had died, he would be able to sense it somehow and since he wasn't feeling a searing pain in his heart or his own life draining from his body, he had it on pretty good authority that his Haley was still alive.

He was so caught up in the moment that it took him a second to register that the ringing in his ears was actually his cell phone. He hooked it up to the car phone adapter thing Haley had bought him a while ago and pushed the speaker phone button. He remembered when she bought it for him. He didn't understand why he needed it.

"_What the heck is that for?" he asked, observing the small phone cradle with a few buttons on it. Haley laughed.  
_

"_It's something to hook your cell phone up to while you're in the car, silly. What do you think it is?" she replied as they sat on the couch together. _

"_I don't need this," Nathan replied, giving the box back to her but Haley refused to take it from him. _

"_Think of it more as a present for me then," she said. _

"_Huh?" he asked. Haley cocked her head to the side. _

"You know how distracting it can be to drive with a cell phone plastered to your ear. This way you can put it on speaker, yap with Lucas about basketball and still concentrate on driving so some cop won't be phoning to tell me that my husband was in a car accident," Haley said.

"_Are you saying that I can't do more than one thing at once?" he asked. Haley put her right arm around his neck._

"_Sure you can but we both know that when it comes to basketball, you're concentrating more on that even if you're only talking about it," Haley teased and giggled when Nathan retaliated by tickling her. Nathan went got up and started to walk away. "Where are you going?" _

"_To hook this up," he replied as he walked out of the front door._

"Hello?" Nathan asked.

"Get your ass back here this instant, Scott!" his coach's voice rang through the car. Nathan sighed.

"I can't do that, Coach. Sorry," he said.

"What do you mean you can't! Have you forgotten about your team mates or is it that you just don't care? You have an obligation to this team," his coach exclaimed.

"Yeah and I have an obligation to be there with my wife while she's sick. The team can do without me for one practice," Nathan shot back not caring how his voice sounded.

"Your wife is sick?" he asked.

"Yeah," Nathan said.

"What is it?" his coach asked. Nathan and Haley had agreed not to tell people who didn't need to know. She had explained that she didn't want people to look at her differently unless they absolutely needed to.

"I can't tell you that. All you need to know is that she collapsed earlier while I was on the phone with her, that she has a condition that can't be cured and I refuse to let her suffer in the hospital all alone," Nathan replied.

"Is this how it's going to be for the rest of time? You're going to run off at the slightest scare?" his coach asked.

"Nothing is more important to me than Haley. You knew that when I transferred to this team," Nathan replied.

"I have a wife too, son. I know what it feels like to be away from your family a lot. We all made sacrifices to be where we are now. We all spend less time with our wives, girlfriends, kids and family to be on the team. You need to accept that," his coach said.

"Not everyone's wife, girlfriend or kid has a disease like Haley's. Not all of you have to watch your wife suffering in pain as you walk out the door to go to a game. My wife chose not to call me when she first collapsed and received news of her disease because she didn't want to pull me away from the game," Nathan spat back.

"And it takes a very special woman to think like that and I really am sorry about Haley but as the coach, I have to think about the team as a whole, Nathan. You have not shown enough commitment to the team. You run off in the middle of practices and sometimes you don't even bother to show up. You need to make a choice, son," his coach said.

"I quit," Nathan said.

"What? Nathan, hold on a minute. Do not make a decision like this in the heat of the moment. Think about it. Maybe talk to Haley. Do not throw away everything you've worked for," his coach said.

"I'm not," Nathan said, thinking of how hard he had worked to get where he was now with Haley. "I choose my wife. Always."

Haley woke up and looked around. She was in a hospital. She had worked in one long enough to recognize that. But she wasn't in her hospital. The disinfectant was way too strong and the walls were painted a disgusting shade of pink. Of course, any shade of pink was disgusting to her.

She slowly sat up and was hit by a wave of nausea. She fought through it and sat cross-legged on her bed. She looked around and started to get off the bed when the IV in her arm pulled at her skin. "Ow!" she exclaimed and cursed herself for not checking. She was a nurse so she should have known better.

She saw her chart hung on the bottom of her bed and decided to read it. Her vitals were normal and she thanked God when she realized that it couldn't have been a flare-up that landed her here. So she read further and recognized the symptoms immediately. She burst out laughing as she realized what she had. Then a loud voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I don't understand. How can you not know where she is?" A male voice exclaimed. It was very loud and full of panic and frustration. Haley smiled. She could recognize Nathan's voice anywhere.

"As I told you a few seconds ago, if your wife has just been brought in, she's probably not admitted yet. And if she is, I haven't received the paperwork to input it into this nice computer here with all of our patients' names and information," the desk clerk said in a calm manner but you could tell that she was annoyed.

"Well, how can you find her then?" Nathan asked.

"I will send someone to go looking for her but it will take some time," she replied. Nathan sighed.

"How can I find her then?" he asked. Haley smiled. She guessed that the clerk would tell him that they don't allow people wander through the ER aimlessly, checking in every room they pass on their way, disrupting their patients that are sick and need rest.

"Nathan!" Haley called out.

Nathan's head turned in the direction of Haley's voice. He looked at the clerk who was smiling. "Well, that's one way," she said. He looked at her questioningly. Her smile widened as she nodded and said, "Go right ahead."

"Thanks," Nathan said as he zipped down the hall and into the room he guessed that Haley had called him from. Haley was sitting on her bed; smiling and her eyes were wide with amusement.

"Took you long enough," she teased. Nathan didn't even bother retaliating. He just sat down on the bed with her and crushed her against him. Haley was laughing but she returned his embrace fully.

"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling away and looking her over. Haley nodded.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"Haley, people that are fine don't collapse in the middle of a conversation," he said. Haley suppressed a laugh.

"Sorry about that," she said.

"It's fine. Now was it a flare-up? A reaction to the new meds?" he asked. Haley shook her head.

"I have the flu," she replied

"What?" he asked. She nodded. "How does the flu land you in the hospital?"

"It lands a lot of people in the hospital. But in my case, my body is weakened and so even the smallest thing can put me into the hospital," she explained.

"So you've talked to the doctor. When can you get out of here?" he asked. Haley smiled.

"I haven't talked to any doctor," she replied.

"Then how do you know what's wrong?" he asked. Haley pointed to her chart at the foot of her bed. Nathan's mouth dropped open and he turned back to her and fixed her with an accusing stare.

"Those are for medical personnel, not patients," he scolded.

"I'm a nurse," she said.

"Not at this hospital. And even if you were, right now you're a patient," Nathan said. Haley shrugged.

"Oh, well. Can't do much about it now," she said, leaning back on her bed. He smiled at her and took one of her hands and brought it to his head.

"You left practice didn't you?" she asked. Nathan nodded. She started to ask how the coach responded to it.

"Don't worry about it. It's not an issue anymore," he replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I quit the team," he replied. Haley jumped back up and stared at him.

"You what? Nathan, what did you do that for?" she exclaimed.

"I'm tired of putting the team before you, Hales. Things will never change and I won't split my focus anymore," he replied.

"So what are you going to do now? You need to stop making rash decisions like this," she scolded.

"I made the obvious choice. Basketball is a game. It's not you and I've been thinking about quitting for a while. I actually scheduled a meeting with Whitey for next week," he replied.

"Whitey?" Haley repeated.

"There's a job opening for an assistant coach at the high school where he volunteers at now," Nathan said.

"But it's all the way in Tree Hill," Haley reminded him. Nathan shook his head.

"No, it's in Raleigh. Whitey relocated there a few years ago. He said that I was pretty much a shoo-in for the job," Nathan said.

"I agree," Haley said and leaned over and kissed him.

_A week later…_

Nathan walked into his apartment with a huge smile on his face. He crawled into bed beside Haley aware that she had to get up for work in a few minutes. He cupped her cheek and kissed her on the lips. Haley groaned against his lips. "Time to wake up," he said. Haley opened her eyes half way and glanced at the clock.

"I have fifteen more minutes to sleep," she complained.

"Not anymore," he said. Haley shook off the covers grudgingly and then turned around to face him. He was laughing at her.

"Wipe that smirk off your face," she ordered. He didn't so she grabbed her pillow and hit him with it. The smirk disappeared.

"Ouch. That's not very nice. I have to go to work tomorrow and I would rather not have to explain to the students that my wife beat me up," Nathan replied. Haley's face brightened and she sat up.

"You got the job?" she asked. Nathan nodded and started to open his mouth but Haley crushed hers against it rendering him speechless. She pulled away and smiled at him proudly. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. Do you know what Whitey said when I walked out of the office and told him I got the job?" he asked. Haley propped her head up with her elbow.

"What did he say?" Haley asked.

"Welcome to hell," Nathan replied and they both burst out laughing.

"And what did you say?" she asked.

"I said that I'd already been in hell because of the time I spent away from you. This is more like limbo," Nathan replied. Haley smiled and hugged him. Then she got up and walked into the bathroom. She came out dressed in her uniform.

"A nurse and a basketball coach," Nathan said thoughtfully.

"What?" she asked.

"Nobody thought we'd make it," he explained. Haley smiled.

"We did," she replied gesturing to them.

"We almost didn't," Nathan said. Haley sat down on the bed beside him and nodded.

"That's true and some people would say that I was better off without you," she said.

"Same here," he said. Haley nodded knowingly. "Why did _you_ listen?" Haley smiled and leaned against him.

"Because despite reason and the odds and common sense that screamed that I'd only be hurt by you, one thing always remained," Haley said.

"What?" he asked.

"I loved you and that wins out over all that other stuff," Haley replied.

"I love you too," he said. Haley looked around their apartment.

"Good. Just don't ever stop," she said softly.

"I won't but the same goes for you," he said and leaned down to kiss her. When he pulled away she nodded.

"Cross my heart," she replied.

The End

**I'd like to take the time to thank all of the following people who continually review this story:**

_Nathanlvr, xSmile, geeekindork, Chris-Crips, nathanandhaleyislove,clemsontigerschic, bluchampaegne, Emily Carol, TruLuv, iftheyonlyknewthetruth and TREEHILLADMIRER. _

**Thanks for all the support.**


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